Kiss of a lifetime
by Danielle18
Summary: Why is Rory even going to this party? It couldn't be because she actually wants to see Tristan. Could it? Maybe her heart is trying to tell her something...
1. Chapter 1

_**Kiss of a Lifetime**_

_**

* * *

**_  
"_Mary_!"

Rory turned around, only to see Tristan walking briskly after her.

"Mary - I mean, _Rory_!" he called out to her once more.

Rory stopped walking, and turned around to face him.

"Tristan, to what do I owe the displeasure?" Rory asked firmly, half smiling.

Tristan panted a little, but she could tell he was just putting it in there for effect.

"Party-tonight-my place; be there" Tristan said, a little breathlessly, and then walked straight past her.

Rory had a quizzical look on her face. Was that it? What did that mean?

"Tristan" Rory called out, expecting him to stop and immediately and turn around, but he didn't, he kept walking.

Now it was her turn to run after him!

She caught up and began strolling beside him, trying to keep in time with his long strides.

"What's the party for? And why am I invited?" Rory asked, staring at him, a curious look still on her face.

Tristan stopped walking, making Rory back track a little to be level with him. "Rory, it's just a party, it doesn't have to mean anything! The whole student body will be there. All you have to bring is yourself, so just come- have a good time. Ok?" and he began to stride off again.

* * *

Back home, at 8:00, Rory was getting ready for the party. 

After raiding her mother's closet, and going through the entire contents of her own, she finally decided on a stylish black skirt, turquoise top with small red flowers down one side, red hairclip and a pair of slip-on black shoes.

Rory smiled, just a little, was it just her or did Tristan look especially handsome today? His beach blond, gruff hair had a few loose strands, which fell down his face; and his beautiful eyes… she couldn't help but stare at them. - And his voice! It was usually deep and sexy, but when he talked to her it was soft and enticing.

God! Was she actually daydreaming about Tristan? Was she actually looking forward to this party- because of him?

_No!_

Hell, why was she even going? It would just be idiotic under-age drinking, guys with pants half way down their butts, girls wearing micro-minis. Why was she going?

Her mum had surprisingly aloud her to go, and as she looked at herself in the mirror, she couldn't help but notice that she looked quite pretty. _What the hell_?

* * *

As she walked into the large, beautiful house, after being escorted in by a butler, her first thought was Tristan, for some reason she needed to see him. 

But she was greeted by a guy holding a tray of vodka shots, he shoved the tray in her face, and she took one; taking a small tentative sip at first, and disliking the taste, but taking the rest anyway.

And then she saw him, wearing dark brown chord pants and a light brown t-shirt- his hair was falling down his face again- god he looks so good Rory thought to herself.

And what she did next, seemed totally out of her control, like her body (or was it her heart?) took control from there on in.

Maybe it was that last vodka she'd had, or maybe she was just beginning to come to her senses.

Rory breezed past the masses of people, and in an instant Tristan saw her, and they locked eyes.

Finally she was close enough to him, but neither of them moved; it was like some cheesy t.v soap; they just locked eyes, for what seemed like a _lifetime._

And then, Tristan leant forward, brushed his soft hands against her face, then cupped her chin in his hand, bent down just a little; and kissed her, gently at first, his robust, firm lips pressing against her soft sweet ones.

Then, once Tristan realized he wasn't in the middle of a dream, he began to kiss her harder, not wanting to let her go, _ever._

The people surrounding them moved silently and smoothly; and then became a blur, and all that Rory could see was Tristan, and all Tristan could see was Rory; it was _bliss_.

His supple hands connected with her petite waist, and seemed to fit so perfectly as he held her close and tenderly while they kissed.

Rory was in heaven, but she knew once it was over, it would feel wrong, and she might even regret it; god, she didn't want this to end; and neither did Tristan.

Rory pulled away, a little at first, and then finally, their lips were ajar; and it was over.

"_Rory_" Tristan whispered huskily under his breath.

Was he shaking? His hands were still securely fastened around Rory's hips, and yes, he was shaking- because of her? Because of the kiss?


	2. Chapter 2

Rory looked up, into Tristan's captivating blue eyes; had that really just happened?

She could still taste his sweet lips; but the tender, pleasant expression on Tristan's face was now replaced with a quizzical one, and Rory could tell he was completely confused; unsure of what Rory, the girl who had seemed to hate the very sight of him, meant by _kissing_ him.

"Err –Tristan – " Rory tried to find the words, but what could she say to him? This all happened so unexpectedly, she felt as though she was looking at it all from outside herself, like she wasn't really in control of her actions- or emotions.

Tristan saw the perplexity on Rory's face, and realized just how closely and tightly he was holding onto her; so he loosened his hold on her waist, just a little, and put only a small distance between them; enough room now, so that he could look at her face clearly- that face, he thought to himself; those beautiful eyes, sweet lips and her blushing cheeks- he was mesmerized.

Rory's eyes rolled down to the floor, trying to avoid Tristan's eyes, which were now staring powerfully at her face; what was he looking at? Does he hate me? Oh god, why did I kiss you? - Rory's thoughts were racing- but she had no need to panic or regret what she had just done- because she didn't know it, but Tristan was falling in love with her.

Suddenly they both became aware that they had been standing in the middle of Tristan's lounge room, a crowd of people all around them, holding each other in their arms after just having an intense kiss, for quite a length of time.

Tristan let out a nervous sigh, with a hint of laughter.

"Maybe- I mean if you want to!" he laughed again, tensely, "we can go outside- or…" he paused for a moment, looking deeply into Rory's eyes, and decided against inviting her into his room- he didn't want that from her, not like with the other girls he'd been with.

"Outside, do you want to go outside?" he finally released the words out into the open, and waited for Rory's reply.

She smiled, a little anxiously, "Ok" she said, breathlessly.

Tristan was bursting inside, maybe, after all that hoping and fantasising- maybe he actually had half a chance with this girl! Hell, she'd just kissed him, with no 'hello?' or 'How are you?' no warning at all- that had to mean something!

He pulled himself away from her completely, took her hand lightly in his, and escorted her around the crowds of people- outside to his courtyard.

The fresh air was a comfort from the stuffy, smoke filled house; but there was no lighting outside, most of the guests were around the sides of the house, none were out the back in the courtyard.

"You can sit here," Tristan said, pulling out a white deck chair, apart of a larger set, which included a nice white table and several other identical chairs.

Rory sat down tentatively, and turned around, but Tristan wasn't there.

"Tristan?" Rory called out, quietly but nervously.

Suddenly beams of little white lights lit up the courtyard; Rory turned her head, looking out at the neat littler garden in front of her; a dozen trees each sprinkled with small fairy lights which lit up the entire courtyard- there was a hint of romance in the air.

Tristan appeared, having just returned from behind a large wall, which had a small shed behind it.

"Sorry, had to get some light going out here" he said, walking towards Rory and pulling a seat out for himself, and sitting down opposite her.

"It's beautiful- but I bet you do this for all the girls" Rory teased with a small smile on her face, but Tristan didn't seem very amused, infact he looked a little hurt.

"What was that, in there, Rory?" he asked, looking away from her; he couldn't stand it if the answer wasn't the one he wanted to hear.

Rory didn't know what to say, she was thinking of simply excusing the kiss by saying she'd had a bit of vodka and wasn't exactly 'with it'.

But she didn't want to lie, not to him, not now- for some reason, it meant a lot to her that she tell him what was on her mind- no, what her heart was telling her to say.

"God, I wish I knew." She looked over at him, wanting to see the expression on his face- he was still looking away, but she could see he didn't like where this was going "I was looking forward to this all day, and I couldn't figure out why. And I couldn't figure out why I was thinking about you all day either" she looked over once more, only to see he was now looking up at her, intensely, urging her to go on.

"And then when I got here, I just had to see you- and, well when I did- I don't know what happened" Rory didn't quite know what else to add on, so she left it there, floating around in the air, and waited for Tristan's response.

"I _love_ you" Tristan whispered, so quietly, that Rory almost didn't hear him.

But she did; "_Excuse me_?" she said, looking at him quizzically; what did that mean? Is he drunk? She thought to herself.

Tristan sat back in his chair, and looked out to the courtyard, how was he going to explain this? Did he really want to lay all his feelings out in front of her?

"_God_ Rory! You knew I had feelings for you!" he said, why was she

making him explain this? Couldn't she see how uncomfortable all this made him?

"You have feelings for a lot of girls, Tristan, what makes me any different? Hell! You've probably told all the girls you've been with that you love them, just to get them into bed!" Rory spat back, and raised herself a little form her seat, about to leave.

"Surprisingly enough, the honest truth is that even though I have been with a lot of girls- I have never felt this way about any of them- the way I feel about you- it's love" Tristan said, hoping she'd sit back down.

Rory looked over at him, and sat back down.

"I don't know what I feel," she said, looking away from his face "but I think- maybe –I might have feelings for you, but not _love_" she said, finally.

Tristan's heart leapt "I don't expect you to return those feelings Rory, but – god! When I look at you my heart aches! Can you just give me a chance?" Tristan asked, pleadingly; but Rory still 1didnt look at him.

"I could make you happy- we could be happy" Tristan said, leaning forward and cupping Rory's hands in his own.

Rory looked at him; that face, she thought; but she was scared, because she knew, if she gave herself half the chance, she could fall deeply in love with this guy- but would he hurt her?

"I will never hurt you Rory" Tristan said soothingly.

God! It was like he was reading her mind!

She leaned forward, seductively, and kissed him hard on the mouth "You better not!" she said teasingly.

A million thoughts were going through Tristan's head, and he pulled away from Rory's entrancing kiss for a moment, cupped his hands around her cheeks.

"I finally have my _dream_ girl," he whispered, looking deeply into her eyes, and he went on kissing her.


	3. Chapter 3

Light began to break through into the courtyard- scattering the grass and trees with its rays, and bringing the garden to life with the light.

Almost everybody had gone home, although there were still a few people crashing out on Tristan's couch- but nobody came outside to bother them.

Rory and Tristan had melted into one another's bodies as they danced rhythmically with one another- there was no music, and infact it seemed a little cheesy, like something you'd see in a typical '_chick flick'_.

But at that moment neither of them cared- after kissing and holding one another, Tristan had taken Rory's hand and lead her down the marble steps and into the centre of the garden, pushed their bodies together and held her in his arms, and they both began dancing to the music that was beating from inside the house.

But that had been a while ago now, but they didn't feel tired at all, infact; they felt light and free, like they could stay that way forever, entangled in one another's arm's.

The music had stopped playing a while ago too, but the rhythm was still there, as Tristan led their bodies into the dance- Rory's head nestled on his chest, and his head propped up against hers, their hands entwined.

Then, as the sun hit Rory's closed eyes, panic set in.

"Oh no! I have to call my mum" Rory whispered, trying to pull apart from Tristan, but finding it incredibly hard to make herself let go of him.

"This wasn't a dream, was it?" he whispered, pretending he hadn't heard what she'd just said.

Finally Rory released her grip, stepped back and looked into his face, and kissed him on the lips.

"I guess not," he said, smiling as she pulled away.

"Tristan- tonight was-" she stammered, trying to find the right words.

"Perfect?" he murmured.

Rory smiled brightly, and kissed him again "Perfect" she repeated.

But she quickly snapped herself back to reality "But I really have to go now Tristan" she said, looking down at her watch "It's 5 in the morning!" panic was in her voice.

"Ok, let me drive you home" he offered, and he took her hand and led her back up the stairs and into his house.

* * *

On the way back to stars hollow, both Tristan and Rory were quiet, and Tristan hated the silence.

"What are we now, Rory?" he asked, finally getting the question off his chest.

They were approaching stars hollow, and would be at Rory's home in 15 minutes- but during the drive Rory had been thinking long and hard- mainly about Dean, god! She hadn't even considered her boyfriend when she kissed Tristan!

"I'm still with Dean," she blurted out, not considering her words carefully enough.

Tristan frowned, a little angry at what Rory had just said.

"Great! But that doesn't answer my question- Rory, what are we?" he asked impatiently.

They finally stopped outside Rory's house; her mother would have heard the car and would be panicking.

"Tristan- I think we should-" but Rory was cut off, once she heard the front door of her house slam shut and saw her mother's furious face head toward them.

"Lets talk about this later, you have to get out of here" Rory said quickly.

"Don't have to tell me twice" Tristan said, and as Rory went to open the car door, he leant forward to kiss her, but she ignored him and leapt out.

As he drove off Lorelai approached her, but instead of blasting her with words she simply grabbed her in a bear hug, Rory was taken aback.

"Mum, I am so sorry, I lost track of time" Rory began to stammer.

Lorelai let go of her daughter, cupped her face in her hands- making her look into her eyes.

"Sweetie, I trust you, you are one of the oldest 16 year olds I know. But, _God_! Can you just call me?_ OK_?" Lorelai said, a tremor in her voice.

"Mum, nothing happened, it's just I got talking to Tristan and-" Lorelai cut her off.

"Tristan? Was that who drove you home?" she asked, raising her voice a little.

"Yes, but nothing happened we just talked!" Rory hated lying to her mum, but she couldn't exactly admit to herself what had happened with Tristan, let alone explain it to Lorelai.

"Ok, ya know what kiddo? I'm just glad you are home safe and sound!" Lorelai said, her arm around Rory as she led her inside.

Rory was surprised that her mother had been so calm about this; she knew that her mum trusted her, but to come home at 5 in the morning? With a guy who isn't exactly a saint?

Rory shrugged it off, desperate to hop in the shower and get into some comfortable clothes.

* * *

"Rory!" Lorelai called out.

Rory was in her room, reading '_catcher in the rye'_, trying to divert her mind from Tristan.

But when she heard her mother's voice, she lifted her head.

"Dean's here" her mother added.

Rory jumped up, dropping the book on the floor, and ran over to the mirror. Why was she looking at herself? Was she trying to see if she looked guilty?

"Coming" Rory yelled out, but a voice was talking to her from the doorway.

"No need, I'll come to you" Dean said, leaning against Rory's doorframe.

"Dean!" Rory spun around, her hair whipping her in the face as she

looked at him- in his leather jacket and black pants, his hair a little ruffled.

"Hey" she tried to cover her last surprised welcome with a more laid back one.

"Hey!" Dean said, as he walked over to her and kissed her on the lips.

"What are you doing here?" she asked, trying to sound normal.

"I wanted to see you- thought we might do something today." He said, now taking a seat on her bed, looking at her and waiting for her reply.

But Rory was frozen, what was she going to say to him? She needed some serious talk time with Lane before talking to either Tristan or Dean!

"Rory, are you ok?" Dean asked, looking seriously at her.

"NO!" Rory almost screamed, happy for diverge.

"Oh, well what's wrong? Headache? Cold?" Dean said, lifting himself off her bed and walking towards her.

"Err, no, just really tired," she said, pulling away a little as he went to feel her forehead.

Lorelai was standing in the kitchen, listening to their conversation, aware that Rory was hiding something; she thought she'd help her daughter out, and maybe get her to sit down and talk with her about it.

"You're hot water bottle will be ready in a sec, hun" Lorelai said, peering into her bedroom door.

"Err, thanks mum" Rory said, a little stunned.

"Well I don't want to keep you from resting" Dean said, sympathetically "But can I come round tomorrow and see how you're doing?" he asked.

Rory simply nodded her head, and Dean leaned over and kissed her softly on the forehead.

"See ya tomorrow" he said as Rory closed the door behind him.

Rory turned around, happy he'd left, and she'd avoided telling him about her and Tristan; but as she turned around, ready to head back to her room and bury her head back into her book, she saw Lorelai blocking her path.

"We need to talk," she said, tenderly.

* * *

Lorelai, now hearing the full story, which Rory had just explained to her, in detail, was now in a moment of mock silence.

"Mum, _say_ something" Rory pleaded, but Lorelai simply frowned, not sure of what she could say.

"_Hello_? Pull out the parenting pamphlet and give you're teenage daughter some _advice_!" Rory pleaded some more.

"Rory, it sounds to me like-" Lorelai stopped, mid sentence.

"Yes, I am totally open to suggestions here mum!" Rory said, encouraging her to go on.

Lorelai looked at her, leant forward and cupped her hands in her own.

"It does sound like, this boy is in love with you" Lorelai said.

"I mean, from what I have heard about his womanising ways- well, boys don't dance with just anyone until 5 in the morning!" she added.

Rory sat back in her chair, sighing heavily.

"And I think you are scared, and confused- because maybe, you want to explore this whole 'bad boy' adventure further" Lorelai went on; knowing Rory didn't want to hear that.

"In which case- you can't pretend with Dean, if you like Tristan- well, the heart wants what the heart wants" Lorelai finished, hoping she'd gotten through to her confused daughter.

"So I tell Dean what happened, but what do I tell Tristan?" Rory looked to her mother.

"Tell him, whatever it is that you feel for him- and you do the same with Dean, even if it means breaking his heart" Lorelai said, as she got up and grabbed two mugs and poured some strong coffee into them.

She placed one in front of Rory, and she took it greedily taking sips.

"I think my feelings for Tristan are stronger than they are for Dean…" she finally confessed to herself, and with that Lorelai leant forward and rubbed her arm comforting her, "So _tell_ them" she said.


	4. Chapter 4

_ I would just like to say a big thanks to all who are reading this story- I am getting a lot of reviews asking me to continue with it, so I think this will end up being a fairly large story (that's if you don't get too bored with it!). _

_I really didn't mean for this to become an ongoing thing, I was planning to only write about the kiss, and that would be it- but all of you egging me on, how could I refuse? Please read on, and I hope you continue to check back with updates! THANKS SO MUCH!_

* * *

Lane was running around frantically outside her mother's antique store, when Rory came to see her the next day, in desperate need of her guidance. 

Well, not her guidance so much, because Rory knew what she had to do; but she needed to get it all off her chest, plus, Lane would never forgive her for not giving up this kind of goss!

"Lane!" Rory yelled, trying to get her attention as she ran around, cleaning pieces of furniture, which were sitting on the lawn.

"Rory!" Lane looked up, breathlessly "What's up?" she asked.

Rory went to open her mouth but Lane cut in "Actually, I'm kinda busy right now, cant talk, call me later" she said, while rushing over, cloth in hand, ready to polish a chest of draws.

"No, Lane, this is the kind of thing I cant say over the phone" Rory said, trying to get Lane's attention.

"Rory, it cant be that important," Lane said, scrubbing furiously at the chest.

"Lane!" Rory yelled.

"Rory I'm sorry, we have a huge clearance sale going on, I am getting blisters on the feet" Lane trailed off with her complaints "my mum is a slave driver, I mean seriously! I should be enjoying my adolescence-" but Rory cut her off.

"I think I'm in love with Tristan!" Rory screamed, and then instantly blushed.

Lane stopped scrubbing, and looked up at her friend, her mouth wide open.

She dropped the cloth and walked over to Rory, staring at her, now red face.

"Tristan?" Lane asked, and Rory nodded in response, a little shyly.

"Tristan from school" Lane confirmed, and Rory nodded once more.

"The _incredibly_ hot Tristan, who, while he has _heart-breaking_, God-like good looks is a womanising jerk and come to fondly, and annoyingly, refer to you as _Mary_?" Lane said, her mouth fully ajar.

Rory nodded again, becoming uncomfortable with Lane's watchful eyes.

"We _must _talk!" Lane said, grabbing Rory by the arm and dragging her towards the park.

* * *

"I couldn't sleep last night, because I was thinking about him constantly!" Rory admitted, after explaining the story. 

"So he danced with you until 5 in the morning?" Lane asked, for the fourth time, not quite believing her friend.

"_YES_! Now please get over the romantics and concentrate on the disaster that is my life!" Rory said, throwing her face into her hands.

"_Rory_!" Lane cupped Rory's face in her hands, causing her to look into her eyes.

"You have to tell Dean!" Lane said what Rory already knew.

"And now is as good a time as any" Lane said, as Rory followed Lane's eyes which were looking behind her at Dean who was striding towards them.

"Lane! Please stay" Rory said, grabbing at Lane's arm as she tried to rise from her seat.

"Rory! Maybe he'll understand?" Lane said, finally squirming free from Rory's grip "C-ya, and call me and tell me exactly what happened, every detail!" Lane cried out as she ran back towards her house.

"Tell me what?" Dean asked as he bent down to kiss Rory, whose back was facing him.

"What we're about to talk about" Rory said, unable to stop herself.

"That doesn't sound too good" Dean said, as he sat down next to Rory on the park bench, facing her.

Rory looked up, into Dean's concerned face, a pang of regret hitting her; she didn't want to do this!

"Ok, please don't speak until I have finished what I have to tell you-" Rory said, and cupped Dean's mouth with her hand, as he was about to open it and say something.

"Just nod if you agree to these terms and conditions" Rory said, her hand still covering his mouth.

He nodded and Rory let her hand drop.

"Ok, now before I start, you have to know I never meant to hurt you- but I have to be honest about this and simply tell you" Rory said, Dean nodded and she went on.

Her palms were becoming sweaty, and her hands were beginning to shake a little; her heart beat fast and her breaths became quick and intense.

"I went to a party last night- _Tristan'_s party" Rory gave Dean a stern look, telling him to be quiet, as she could see he already wanted to make an outburst after hearing Tristan's name.

"And-" Rory was so nervous; she thought she was going to start crying!

She bent her head down, looking at her quivering hands, and then back up at Dean- he deserved to know, she told herself.

"Well, we kissed" Rory said, seeing the immediate fury in Dean's eyes, but he still remained quiet, but began grinding his teeth.

"And I stayed with him all night- talking, and- stuff. But nothing happened! We didn't" she paused again, Dean's silent anger beginning to scare her; "We didn't have sex, but we did kiss, many times" Rory bent her head down, thinking that she had said enough, though none of it sounded the way she had intended it to when she practised in front of her mirror.

Dean raised himself from the bench, not looking at Rory who was staring at him, waiting for a reaction.

But Dean said nothing, he simply turned around, and began walking- this took Rory by surprise.

"Where are you going?" Rory yelled after him, still sitting down.

But he didn't reply, or even turn around; his stiff body simply strode away.

Rory got up form her seat and ran after him, catching up and walking beside him, looking at his cold, expressionless face.

"Dean! I am so sorry, what can I do-" she was going to say more, but when Dean stopped walking and turned his harsh face to look at hers, she became silent?

"Leave, before I do something I might regret" he said cruelly, causing Rory to become even more frightened.

And Dean began walking away again, heading towards Luke's, leaving Rory, frozen, in the middle of the footpath.

As she looked up, ready to call out to him again, she realized he was gone, and she was too scared to go after him.

Hot tears began to run down her face, streaming down, uncontrollably; and her breaths quickened, her whole body began to shake a little.

All she could think to do was run, run home- the only place she could stand being at the time.

* * *

When Rory burst through the door, Lorelai jumped up- she'd promised Rory she'd be home when she came back from talking with Dean, and she had waited patiently, having gone through five mugs of coffee. 

"Rory" Lorelai called out to her worried; she followed her into her room, and opened the door slowly, only to see Rory sprawled out on her bed, a pillow covering her face as more tears came flooding out.

She sat down beside her, and began to stroke her hair.

"I didn't want this to happen" Rory cried, as her mother lifted her body up and nestled her head on her chest, allowing Rory to sob.

"I know, but better that he knows" Lorelai whispered, knowing it would do no good.

* * *

Lorelai had sat with Rory, crying in her arms, for an hour- but now it was 7:00, and she had to leave for her mother's; Rory was finally sleeping peacefully, and she didn't want to wake her, so she left a note on the kitchen table which said: 

**_'Don't worry about coming tonight I'll tell Grandma and Grandpa your not feeling well. Love - _**_Lorelai_**_'_**

* * *

Rory was beginning to wake now, but she didn't open her eyes-, as they were still stinging a little from the hot tears she'd been crying. 

But she felt comfort when she felt her mother stroke her hair once more, she was glad to be home.

"Morning" came a low male voice, surprising Rory.

She opened both her eyes and jumped up, as she saw Tristan, kneeling down beside her- pulling his hand away which had just been stroking her hair.

Rory glanced over at the clock by her bed, only 7:30.

"How did you get in? What are you doing here?" Rory said, still in shock.

Tristan stood up, looking down at Rory, "I knocked on the door, but nobody answered, so I looked in you're window, saw you sleeping- went back to the door, looked underneath the door mat, found the key and let myself in" he explained, hoping Rory wouldn't be too angry.

Rory looked up at him, a questioning look still on her face.

"You've been crying?" Tristan said, softly- noticing Rory's red eyes and the tearstains on her pillow.

But still Rory said nothing; she just looked down at her hands.

"I was worried about you- and I didn't want to call, incase you hung up on me," Tristan explained further.

"I wouldn't hang up on you" Rory said, bringing Tristan some reassurance.

Tristan knew she told Dean, why else would she be so upset?

"He didn't hurt you, did he?" Tristan said, angry at the very idea.

Rory looked up at him, and shook her head.

"That is why you're upset though? You told him what happened and he didn't like what he hard?" Tristan said, soothingly; bringing himself to sit down on Rory's bed, beside her.

It was good to have him here, just the smell of him invigorated her; and she curled up into his arms, surprising him.

"Ssshhh, it's ok," he said, stroking her hair some more as he heard some more tears coming through.

"I don't regret it, Tristan- you know that, right?" she said, her body being cradled in his arms soothed her a little- and the thought of her mother coming home, finding him in her room, didn't worry her at all.

"I was hoping you wouldn't," he said, and he couldn't help but smile a little.

"Are you hungry?" he asked her; and just then, Rory realized how completely famished she was.

* * *

She took another bite of the sandwich Tristan had made her; but when she looked up, she caught him staring at her. 

"What?" she asked, rubbing her face with one hand, thinking she had food some where on herself.

"I want to be with you," he said, seriously.

Rory turned red, did he mean what she thought he meant? _Sex?_

Tristan saw the confusion and worry in her face and instantly reassured her "No! Rory, I don't want that from you- I meant, a couple, you and me- that's what I want." He explained "I thought about it all last night, I couldn't sleep because of all the thoughts of you that were running through my head!" he said, getting a little excited.

Rory smiled "I think-" she began, but Tristan was too afraid that she would turn him down, so he talked some more "Rory! You, change me when I see you, my heart does leaps! And when you kissed me- that was perhaps the single, most unbelievably amazing moment in my life! God Rory! I want to make you see- you take my breath away!" he said, hoping he'd gotten his point across.

Rory put the last bit of the sandwich down, leaned forward and kissed him on the lips "I want to be with you too" she finally said, after pulling away- a beaming smile on her face.

Tristan's heart did a few more leaps, and, sure enough- he was short of breath!

And Rory just sat across from him, smiling at his hopeless happiness; but just then, they heard the front door fly open.

Rory thought it was Lorelai, so she nodded for Tristan to wait in the kitchen while she explained to her what was going on.

But as she approached the door- she was surprised, and downcast when she saw it was _Dean_ who had burst through the door-

* * *

_The next one will be good! I promise- get ready for a few punches to be thrown!_


	5. Chapter 5

Rory stood, frozen, looking at Dean who had now closed the door behind him and was standing in front of Rory.

Then her mind wandered, and she remembered Tristan!

Dean would kill him!

"_Dean_!" Rory cried out, hoping Tristan had heard her and had fled out the back door.

"_Rory_! We need to talk" Dean said, grabbing Rory by the arm.

He pulled her over towards the kitchen, but Rory quickly protested "_No_! Let's sit in the lounge room," she said, quickly.

They walked towards the sofa and sat down, facing one another- Rory still panic-stricken, said nothing, and let Dean begin.

"I'm sorry if I scared you before Rory! But I didn't want to hurt you" he explained, a little frantically.

Rory stiffened, he would have hurt me?

"But what happened between you and Tristan meant nothing, and we can move on from this- I know we can!" he explained, but seeing the sadness in Rory's eyes made him question her feelings "It meant nothing, right Rory?" he asked, sternly.

Rory looked away, and said quietly "I never said me kissing Tristan was a mistake, or that I regretted it…"

Dean's eyes flared with anger, and he rose from the couch, looking down at Rory, disgusted.

"How could you- I…" he was now pacing around the room, looking over at Rory's sad face with a furious glare.

"You can't be with _him_!" he screamed at her, causing Rory to shake a little.

Just then, having heard everything that had been said from the kitchen- ready to leap out and punch Rory's angry boyfriend, if he tried to hurt Rory, Tristan appeared, making himself known to Dean.

"_WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING HERE_?" Dean yelled at Tristan, and then looked down at Rory "What is _he_ doing here?" he yelled back at her, equally as loud and frustrated.

"Oh! I see- you two were-" he couldn't bring himself to say it.

"Tell him to leave, Rory- before I-" Dean began, but Tristan cut in.

"Before you what? I think you're the one that will be leaving, Dean" Tristan said, severely.

Rory jumped up, now, afraid of what Dean would do to Tristan- or worse yet, what they would do to each other.

"Tristan, don't!" Rory ran towards him, and he put his arm out to her, holding her close to him.

"What the hell is this Rory?" Dean began, still standing in the lounge room looking over at Rory and Tristan who stood, holding one another, in the kitchen doorway.

"You want to be with this worthless piece of crap?" Dean said, becoming more and more angry by the second, and pointing furiously at Tristan.

"Leave her alone, and get out, NOW!" Tristan commanded, pushing Rory gently back behind him.

Dean became incredibly heated, and walked heavily towards Tristan, clenching his fists.

"Rory, get into the kitchen" Tristan whispered to the frightened Rory who was standing behind him- but quickly did as she was told, and fled to the kitchen.

What was she going to do? She ran over to the phone, picked it up and frantically dialled her mother's mobile, with a quivering hand; she held the phone to her ear.

"_Hello, Lorelai Gilmore's phone"_

"_MUM_!"

"Rory? What is it, what's wrong"?

Rory was crying uncontrollably, and struggled to get the words out

"Dean and Tristan- they're fighting- Tristan was over here, and then Dean came, and now-"

"Ok Rory! Call Luke, tell him what's happened and ask him to get over there as quickly as possible! You hear me? I'm on my way home now"

* * *

Rory had already hung up on her mother and anxiously called Luke, explaining what had happened; he heard the muffled cries coming from the lounge room, and the heavy thuds _"I'll be there in five minutes_" he said, and hung up.

Rory peered out of the kitchen, and saw Tristan and Dean throwing heavy punches at one another.

Then Tristan threw Dean toward the door, and the fight continued outside, after both of them tumbled down the front stairs- but still connected punches.

Rory followed them, tentatively, not knowing what to do, she stood- watching them- anger, frustration and sadness building up inside.

Then, without thinking, she ran down the stairs- and lunged herself at the two men, screaming and pleading with them to stop.

But neither of them seemed to notice her- then, in an instant, before Rory knew what was going on; a heavy fist connected with Rory's left eye, and she was knocked to the ground, doubled over in pain.

Her vision became blurred, and she could hardly make out the two figures, Tristan and Dean, scuffling around her- still fighting.

"Rory! Rory!" a faint cry came from somewhere- but Rory was in too much pain, and far too frightened to know exactly what was going on- though she was sure it was Luke's voice.

Then more gruff cries; "_You two_!" more stamping of feet and low, husky moans as more punches were thrown "Stop it! Stop it _now_!"- That was definitely Luke's voice! _Thank god!_

Rory opened her eyes a little, the shock of being thrown to the ground now had passed- and she slowly lifted herself off the ground with shaking arms, and rose unsteadily to her feet.

Her head was throbbing- but as the three men came clearly into vision- she found herself too panicked to care about her own pain.

"Stop" she said, her voice a little croaky "Please _stop_" she stumbled back a little, almost falling to the ground again.

"Oh my god! _RORY_!" another faint cry, Rory looked up, to see her mother jumping out of her car and racing towards Rory- an apprehensive look on her face.

Luke had now managed to break up Tristan and Dean, and when the three of them saw Lorelai rush over to her daughter's side- both Tristan and Dean became equally concerned about her, rushing to her side as well.

But Luke held them gruffly by their collars, separating the two of them from one another and stopping them from getting near Rory.

"Stay! Both of you" Luke said angrily, looking at them, disgusted.

"_Rory_! Oh my god, _Rory_!" Lorelai was panicked, her daughter's eye was clearly swollen, and she seemed very dazed.

"I'm taking her to the hospital" Lorelai said, helping her daughter to the car.

"Let me _go_!" Dean shouted after her, but that only made Luke pull harder on his collar.

"I knew you were trouble from the start!" he said, looking coldly into his eyes.

Tristan was watching Lorelai help Rory into the car, and he instantly panicked, but remained quiet, his mouth full of blood, and his cut lip stinging.

"And _you_" Luke said, shaking Tristan's collar, "Who the hell are _you_?"

* * *

_ Ok, you guys are giving me a big head, all these compliments I'm receiving! Thanks so much. But seriously, if you are getting bored with this story, please tell me- I have some good ideas I'd like to incorporate, but I don't want to drag it out too much if no body is interested._

_POST MORE REVIEWS (and please, be very critical of my writing and story line! I appreciate any suggestions, complaints and compliments you have, good and bad)_

_Thanks for reading, and check back soon for chapter 6!_


	6. Chapter 6

Somebody stroked Rory's hair, soothingly; and a part of her hoped that when she opened her eyes, Tristan would be staring at her, with his beautiful blue eyes.

But it wasn't Tristan, it was Lorelai, looking tired and run down.

Just then the nights events came flooding back to Rory, and she cringed at the thought.

"Hey baby!" Lorelai said softly- she sounded tired, were they in the hospital?

Rory looked around, no; she was at home- in her bed.

Lorelai saw the confused look on her face and explained "I took you to the hospital, and they took a look at you're eye- it's quite a shiner you got there" Lorelai said, trying to laugh, but the anxious tone in her voice couldn't be covered.

Rory tried to sit up a little, but as she did a shock wave of pain ran through her body.

"Oh, don't move honey" Lorelai said softly; and gently pushed Rory back down on her pillow.

"You took a bit of a fall aswell- just a few bumps and bruises that will be pretty sore in the morning," she said, looking sweetly at her daughter.

"What time is it?" Rory asked, her mouth a little parched.

Rory noticed Lorelai had pulled a chair up alongside Rory's bed, and had a blanket around her shoulders- had she stayed by her bedside all night?

Lorelai rubbed her eyes, and picked Rory's clock up, looking at the time.

"10:00 in the morning" Lorelai said, "It's Sunday" she added.

"Oh" was all Rory could think to say- though she desperately wanted to ask about Tristan, she didn't think her mother would particularly like to talk about what had happened between him and Dean, not just yet anyway.

"You want something to eat and drink?" Lorelai asked, putting the clock back down and looking tentatively at Rory.

"Just a glass of water, please" she said in a small voice.

Lorelai got up and went into the kitchen; but when she came back into Rory's room she found her daughter had fallen back asleep.

So she placed the glass of water by her bed-side table, and sat back down in the chair, rested her head on Rory's bed, and went back to sleep aswell.

* * *

Rory wasn't as sore as she had been yesterday; and after her mother ordered her to be bed-ridden through all of Sunday (which is usually what she and Lorelai did anyway), she was ready to walk around again- and infact liked the exercise.

While shed been resting she'd heard Lane knock on her door at about 11:30 on Sunday morning, hearing from word-of-mouth what had happened, and wanting to see her friend.

Lorelai had allowed her to come in, and offered her a coffee, but when she went in to ask Rory if she felt like seeing anyone, Rory had turned over in her bed and mumbled something incomprehensible, so Lorelai shut her door again and entertained Lane until 12:00, when she left, saying she had to help her mother in the shop.

Dean and Tristan had come over aswell- not together, of course.

They had both come over several times on Sunday; Rory heard Tristan's gruff voice speaking with Lorelai at the front door at about 12:20, and then again at 3:30, and finally at 5:00 aswell- but that was as far as he got, as Lorelai asked him to leave in a rather stern, angry tone.

Rory wanted to jump out of bed, run to the door and hold him in her arms- she was so worried about him!

But Dean had also come over, first at 1:00 and then again at 7:00, but he received the same, cold treatment as Tristan.

But Rory didn't feel the same urge to see Dean, infact, she was furious at him, for starting the fight in the first place!

Though, there was a part of her that understood his anger- she knew that he loved her, and it must have torn him up when she told him the truth about her and Tristan- and then seeing him at her house!

Pretty soon Rory's hatred for Dean faded, and she only felt guilt- guilt for betraying Dean and starting this whole mess in the first place!

"Hey" Lorelai said, turning when she heard Rory's footsteps behind her.

"Hey" Rory said, and slumped into a chair at the kitchen table, hunching her head over onto the table.

"Gimme a look at that shiner of yours" Lorelai said, sitting across from Rory.

Rory looked up, showing her mother the black circle around her left eye

"God! That thing's so big it needs it's own internet site," Lorelai said, trying to lighten Rory's mood.

But she just slumped her head back onto the table, unamused.

She wanted to ask her mother about Tristan- and Dean, but she didn't want to cause her any un-wanted stress-, which is what she thought the mere mention of their names, would bring.

Lorelai took a sip from her coffee, and unfolded the newspaper, bringing it to her face, she began reading.

Without lifting her head, Rory asked, "How are they?" her voice a little muffled.

Lorelai was unfazed, still reading, "Well, they've seen much better days" she answered her daughter, with no particular tone in her voice.

"How's Tristan?" Rory asked, now lifting her head and resting it on her hand.

Lorelai put the paper down on the table, and looked at Rory.

"So then, you made you're choice between the two of them, have you?" Lorelai asked.

Rory looked away from her mothers stare "I care about them both, but-" Rory didn't quite know how to put it.

"But you asked about Tristan first?" Lorelai said, knowingly.

"Fine! How's Dean?" Rory snapped back, then instantly regretted it.

"I'm sorry, it's just-" again, she couldn't find the words.

"I know it's not easy," Lorelai said, rubbing Rory's arm comfortingly.

"I didn't want this" Rory said sadly.

And all Lorelai could do was watch as Rory headed back to her room, her head down, tears about to bubble over again.

* * *

_Monday morning_- Rory was nervous about going to school and facing Tristan- and the rest of the student body with the huge black bruise covering her left eye.

But she was the one who had insisted to Lorelai that she was well enough to go back, thought she wasn't sure if she really was- but she needed to see Tristan.

"No warning?" Rory said to her mother as they drove to Chilton.

"What do you mean?" Lorelai asked.

"About Tristan- no 'stay away from that boy, he's trouble!'" Rory asked.

Lorelai glanced over at her daughter, and then back at the road "He is trouble- and you'll do what you think is best" she answered, simply.

Rory was confused "_That's it_?" she asked quizzically.

They pulled up to a set of red traffic lights, and Lorelai looked over at her daughter "At the end of all this, I do want to see you happy- and whether Tristan, or Dean, or neither of them is what you want- that is all _I_ want, to see you happy- ok?" Lorelai said this, sounding very wise- and Rory knew she was right.

And as she hoped out of the car, ready to face Chilton, Lorelai kissed her on the forehead "I love you" she said kindly "I love you more" Rory replied.

* * *

As she walked through Chilton's doors, the only thing on her mind was Tristan.

She would usually see him, leaning up against a row of lockers, locking lips with some bimbo in a micro-mini school skirt.

She winced as she remembered seeing him all those times with the countless girls that had come before her- and she hoped she wouldn't find him, leaning up against a locker with some girl, doing just that!

Quickly she walked to her locker, but as she turned the corner, her heart sank- Tristan wasn't there- and the many eyes that were staring at her were making her more and more uncomfortable.

She leaned up against the wall, and took a deep breath- '_I need you Tristan'_, she said to herself.

She closed her eyes and took deeper breaths- then, bliss!

Someone was kissing her mouth, she knew those unforgettable lips!

She kissed him back, dropping her bag on the ground, she began running her hands through his hair.

Oh god! She'd turned into one of those bimbos he locked lips with against the lockers!

And she pulled away, looking up to see his horrified face "Oh Rory! I'm so sorry" he said, gently brushing his fingers against her bruised eye.

For an instant, while he'd been kissing her, she'd forgotten about the pain her eye was still causing her.

"I'm fine," she said, unconvincingly.

He looked at her and frowned, "No your not! You should be at home-" he began, but was soon cut off as Rory gasped, looking at the bruises on _his_ face.

His lip was cut and swollen, and his left eye was also a little swollen- but not black like hers.

She looked down at his arms, they were a little bruised, and when she went to put her arms around his waist he winced in pain.

She quickly lifted up his school shirt, he tried protesting, saying it looked worse than it really was.

But he had huge bruises all around his stomach, and on his sides- it looked tender and excruciatingly sore!

She looked up into his face, but he glanced away, pulling his shirt back down.

"I'm fine," he said, cupping her face in his strong hands, and now looked into her eyes.

"Its you I'm worried about" he said, genuinely concerned.

Rory thought for a moment, the last place she felt like being at that moment was stuck in a classroom- all those eyes watching her.

So she bent down and grabbed her bag, and then clasped her hand around his "Lets get out of here" she said, seriously.

Tristan was taken aback, Rory actually wanted to _skip _school?

"Rory- we have class-" he began, but she stopped him with a kiss.

"I need to be with you" she whispered- and how could he refuse?

"Alright, my cars out the back" he said, and they began walking down the hallway.

As they were almost out the door, hand in hand, they passed Paris- at first she didn't notice them, or didn't realize who the new girl with Tristan was- but when she looked back she was devastated and angry to see it was Rory!

Rory had seen Paris, but had decided that worrying about how devastated Paris would be to see Rory holding onto her crush of so many years, so intensely, would hurt her- she had too many things on her mind, all of which were far more important!

And relief hit her as she and Tristan walked out the doors, and into the sunshine_- finally free_! And together!

* * *

Tristan looked over at Rory, who was staring out the window, a smile on her face- and he laughed out loud, causing Rory to look over at him strangely.

"What are you laughing at?" she asked him.

"The virgin Mary is skipping school, to go on a secret rendezvous," he said, jokingly.

Rory couldn't help but smile "You know I hate it when you call me Mary!" she said, a smile still on her face, which let Tristan know she was light-hearted about the nick-name he'd given her.

He took her hand in his, bought it to his lips, and kissed it gently; "Forgive me?" he said, with an earnest face.

"You know I do" Rory said, as she leaned over and kissed him on the cheek.

"So where are we going _Clyde_?" Rory asked, sitting back in her seat, and looking out at the road ahead.

"Well _Bonnie_, I was thinking it would be a surprise" he said, and smiled at her.

* * *

_ WOW! Don't mean to be cruel by keeping you in suspense or anything- but the next chapter will be a SMACK IN THE FACE (but, the good kind)! So keep reading, please _

_P.s- I just love these little authors notes I leave behind, it's a great way to communicate with my audience! I love you guys, and I especially love the reviews that keep coming in! THANKS SO MUCH!_

_-I'm already half way through chapter seven!_


	7. Chapter 7

Rory could see nothing; Tristan's hands were covering her eyes as he walked behind her, leading her towards her surprise.

They'd been driving in Tristan's BMW for an hour and a half, and Rory appreciated the fresh air- but now she was bursting with anticipation, as Tristan whispered in her ear "Almost there".

The cool breeze floated through her hair, and her footsteps were awkward as Tristan lead her up and down a rocky path- what was this place? She wondered.

"_Ready_?" he whispered, wanting to draw out the anticipation for as long as possible.

Rory began to squirm "Yes! I'm ready- now let me see" Rory whispered back, her eagerness overwhelming now.

Tristan released his hands, allowing Rory to see what lay before her.

- A beautiful rippling lake-, which ran through a wild reserve, with weeping willows along the bank side, and colourful wild flowers growing all over with their beautiful perfume scents filling the cool air.

The sun was sprinkling its rays through the trees, and Rory felt it's warmth on her skin.

This place was beautiful! She turned around and fell into Tristan's arms; "I knew you'd like it," he said, glad that he'd bought a smile to her face.

"Like it?" Rory began, looking into his face "I love it!" she exclaimed, and she let her head fall back onto Tristan's chest.

"And I love you" he whispered.

The words rippled through her body, and brought comfort to her heart.

She looked into his face once more, and went on her tippy toes in order to reach his sweet mouth, and kiss it tenderly.

Tristan tightened his hug, happiness overwhelming him.

* * *

Rory sat back against Tristan's chest; they were sitting down comfortably, Tristan leaning back against one of the huge willow trees, encasing his arms around Rory.

"This has all happened so fast," Rory said.

Tristan bent his head down and buried it in Rory's neck, kissing the smooth, skin softly.

"It's like a dream" she added, goose bumps on her arms as Tristan touched and kissed her neck; and then he pulled away, "if this is a dream, then I don't want to ever wake up" he said.

Rory giggled, and looked around them "How did you find this place?" she asked curiously.

Tristan put his head back against the tree "My dad used to take me here, when I was little- before he and my mum got divorced and he moved to New York" he said bluntly.

"What did you used to do here?" Rory asked, realizing there was a deeper side to Tristan, something she wanted to know more about.

Tristan smiled to himself, and pointed to a group of trees on the other side of the river.

"We used to go camping, and that spot over there was where we always pitched out tent" he said, a little more cheerfully this time.

Rory smiled; glad to hear Tristan's tone lighten.

And then she frowned, and lifted herself up from Tristan's embrace, turning to look at him.

"I know nothing about you" she said, a little wearily- had she really only just realized this? She had fallen in love with somebody- who, up until a few days ago, she had loathed?

Tristan grinned at her weary look of sadness "What do you want to know?" he asked "everything" Rory replied, nestling herself back into his arms.

"Well this has to go both ways," he said, looking down at her.

"Ok, you ask a question, then I'll ask a question," she said, happy that they were making some progress.

Tristan sighed "Ok, tell me about you're childhood" he said, grinning to himself.

Rory laughed "Want to narrow that down a bit _Sigmund Freud_?"

Tristan bent his head down and kissed her on the neck again.

"No" he said, smiling, "Go on, answer the question," he said, willingly.

Rory laughed "Ahhh- ok, where to begin-"

* * *

Tristan lay on the grass, looking up at the clouds.

And Rory's head lay nestled on his chest, a hand holding onto one of his- while his free hand twirled a piece of Rory's hair with his finger.

"You realize we just shared out entire life stories with one another" Rory said, pleased.

"And all within two hours" Tristan added, chuckling.

Rory got up, and supported herself with her arms; looking down at Tristan "Who would have thought we'd end up together?" she said, smirking at him.

"Well, me for one" Tristan said, smiling at her.

Rory jabbed him, gently, in the ribs; "You did not, you hated me" Rory said, staring at him.

"No, I _wanted_ you- _you_ were the one who hated _me_" he said, returning the grin.

Rory nodded her head "Oh yeah" she said.

Tristan looked at her "No I didn't hate you at all Tristan! I loved you all along" he said, jokingly mimicking Rory's voice.

Rory tickled him on his belly, and under his arms, and he rolled around with laughter.

"So all that teasing and nastiness- you were just hiding you're true feelings of lust? Right?" Rory said, pulling her hands away.

Tristan raised himself with his arms, becoming level with Rory "You always tease the ones you love" he whispered, and then bought one of his hands to her ear- tucking a piece of loose hair behind it, and then kissed her on the mouth.

Rory became overwhelmed- was this really happening? It seemed so, supernatural!

Tristan slipped one of his arms behind Rory's back, and pulled her towards him, still kissing her tenderly.

But then Rory pulled away; looking deeply into his eyes, she couldn't resist as she said, "I love you".

Tristan was awe-struck for a moment, catching his breath as he looked into Rory's eyes.

But Rory couldn't wait for a response; she knew what she wanted to do.

She kissed him once more, on the mouth, and then began lightly kissing his neck.

She looked back into his eyes, and he knew what they were about to do- nervousness and happiness overwhelming him all at once.

She tugged at his shirt, and he raised his arms as she slid it off, and went back to kissing him lightly, on the chest this time.

"Rory" he whispered huskily, running his hand through her soft hair "are you sure?" he said, pleasure and desire beginning to overwhelm him- but still, as much as he wanted Rory, he was so nervous- he didn't want to screw things up with her, and at the same time, he felt that he didn't need to have sex with her- simply holding her in his arms was enough.

Rory slid her arms around his neck, and kissed him gently on the lips, and then pulled away, looking into his eyes as she began to unbutton her school shirt, and peel off her cardigan.

Then, as she pushed him gently back down onto the grass, placing her body gently on top of his- aware of all his tender bruises- she leaned down, kissing him some more "I've never been so sure of anything in all my life" she whispered.

* * *

_ Were you expecting that? Was it too tacky? Not romantic enough? Not believable enough?_


	8. Chapter 8

"Rory", Tristan whispered tenderly in her ear; but she didn't stir.

He brushed his hand lightly over her cheek, and then over her bruised eye; guilt hitting him once more.

"Rory" he whispered again; and this time Rory moaned a little, and rolled her head to look over at Tristan.

"Hello" she said, awkwardly- embarrassment washing over her as she noticed what little clothing she had on.

They were still lying in the grass, they had been for half an hour or so.

Tristan smiled at her, and grabbed a bundle of her clothes, passing them to her.

"Thanks" she said quietly, sitting herself up and slipping her cardigan on.

"What's the time?" she asked, turning her back from Tristan while she pulled her school skirt on.

"Err- 3:00" he said, as he began pulling his clothes on as well.

Rory turned her head slightly, peering over her shoulder to see if he had finished dressing yet.

She saw his tanned chest, though he had some bruises, the muscles were still clearly visible; the muscles in his bronze arms were too.

Then she noticed that she was staring, and quickly turned her head away awkwardly.

Tristan saw her turn away, embarrassed; and he frowned a little, pulling his shirt on, he was finally dressed.

"Rory" he said, putting his hand on her shoulder, encouraging her to look turn and look at him.

Rory did so, tentatively meeting his eyes.

"I'm sorry," he said, bowing his head a little.

Rory turned her body, fully, to look at him.

"For what?" she asked timidly, not at all sure what he meant by his apology.

"For what just happened- you regret it now, I can see that- you weren't ready-" he trailed off as he spoke to her with a flat tone.

Rory looked away, ashamed; yes, it was true, she felt undeniable guilt.

The thought of poor, heartbroken Dean, her long-term boyfriend, who she hadn't even shared as much with as she had with Tristan today!

And skipping school? She regretted that aswell, at first it had seemed like a good idea, and she had acted on her impulse.

But that wasn't like her; she was the organized, structured girl who never acted on a whim!

Was it her newfound feelings for Tristan that had made her do all this? Or was it more? Was she rebelling against her usual personality of order and precision?

Tristan looked up at her, only to see her face was turned away.

He nodded slightly, coming to the realization; "I'm sorry," he said once more, rising to his feet.

Rory noticed him move, and looked up to him, rising to a stand herself.

She wanted to say something; but what? The truth was she wasn't sure what she felt!

She'd said that she loved him, but she still wasn't 100 sure that Tristan truly meant when he said those words to her.

Maybe this was one big plan of his?

Rory sighed under her breath, if this was a plan he'd conjured up, he succeeded; he'd made Mary a virgin no more!

"C'mon, I'll take you home" Tristan said, already turning and walking back towards the car.

Rory looked after him- why had this all happened? She thought sadly to herself, as she too turned and headed in the same direction as Tristan.

Only a little while ago she was so blissful, and now, she had come crashing back down to earth; different, painful thoughts filling her head.

And she blamed it all on impulse!

* * *

Rory sat down at the kitchen table, now in her pyjamas and a coffee in hand.

Tristan had dropped her off an hour ago, and she was glad to be away from him- the silence in the car was deafening!

I guess silence can be the most powerful sound of all, she thought to herself, taking another sip of strong coffee.

She glanced up at the clock on the wall, 4:30; Lorelai would be home in an hour or so, what was she going to say to her?

When Rory had gotten in the door, the first thing she thought to do was call Lorelai; she must have bee worried sick about her- the school would have called, and she would have had no idea where she was!

Sookie had answered Lorelai's mobile, and had warned Rory that she wasn't in the best of moods.

"_Mum_?" Rory asked tentatively.

"Oh _I'm sorry_! Who is this I'm speaking to?" Lorelai had said, "This couldn't possibly be my daughter, because if this was my daughter, she would have made this phone call hours ago! Letting me know where the hell she was!" Lorelai said anxiously.

Rory had stood, phone to her ear, not sure of what to say next.

Lorelai sighed; "We'll talk when I get home" Lorelai said, and then hung up.

Rory cringed as she took the last sip of her coffee, remembering the conversation she'd had earlier.

She could tell Lorelai knew whom she'd been with; was that part of the reason for her anger? Or was it simply because she had worried about her daughter's whereabouts?

Rory's thoughts were put to an end when she heard the phone ring.

She got up slowly from the seat; it could be her mother, but Lorelai had said she would talk to her when she got home.

It could be Dean; which might be a sign that he was willing to talk to her calmly about their situation; she was also eager to see how he was after the fight.

Or it could be Tristan on the other end; wanting to come over, seeking answers to the million questions he probably had for her.

Rory put her hand down, ready to pick up the ringing phone; hesitated for a moment, and then picked it up, slowly raising it to her ear.

"_Hello_?" Rory asked tentatively, closing her eyes as she waited for the response.

"Rory? Oh my god! Are you alright" Lane's voice came out- panic stricken.

Rory let out a sigh of relief, glad to hear her friend's voice. "Lane! I'm fine, its so good to hear from you" Rory said easily, as she allowed her body to slide down onto the floor, leaning her back up against the wall- the phone still glued to her ear.

"Rory! I heard what happened- I saw what happened aswell! Well- I don't mean I _actually_ saw the fight, but I did see how Dean looked! God, it must have been bad" Lane began, anxiety still in her tone.

"Lane" Rory began "We need to talk"

Lane sighed on the end of the line "On a scale of one to ten, how bad is it? One being ok, and ten being practically the end of you're life as you know it?" she asked Rory.

Rory thought for a moment "twelve and a half" she said finally.

"We need to talk" Lane said sadly.

* * *

_Ok, a quick authors note;_

_I'm thinking of wrapping the story up in the next few chapters, I got a few 'so, so' responses after chapter 7, and I'm not all that pleased with how chapter 8 went- so be prepared, as this story comes to an end, for some 'edge of you're seat' story lines._

_Thanks! And please read the other stories I have done _

_Thanks so much_


	9. Chapter 9

"Lane- say something" Rory asked her friend tentatively.

She had just explained what she and Tristan had done while skipping school, and after Lane drew in a quick breath, she had become silent.

"Umm- I'm sorry, I wasn't expecting that-" she began, losing her words in between her confusion and shock.

"I'm an idiot, I know I'm an idiot- why am I such an idiot?" Rory said, sadness swelling her tone.

"Your not an idiot Rory!" Lane said, comforting her friend down the other end of the phone line.

"Do you really regret it that much though?" Lane asked, cautiously.

Rory thought for a moment; did she really want to hear her own answer to Lane's question?

"Err, well the thing is-" Rory began, but stopped when she heard her mothers footsteps coming up the stairs, and her keys jingle in the key hole.

"I gotta go, I might come see you tomorrow" Rory said quickly.

"You better, see ya" Lane said, and hung up.

Rory put the phone back onto the table, and rose to her feet, ready to greet her mother.

Lorelai walked into the hallway, stopping and turning to face her daughter when she was her figure standing by the phone.

Rory had an expressionless face, not sure whether she should smile and try to smooth things over (if possible) or look distraught and guilty- she decided on something in between.

"I'm going up stairs to get changed" Lorelai said, and started walking up the stairs.

Rory walked into the kitchen, pouring some coffee into a mug, ready for her mother, and then sat down in one of the chairs, preparing herself for 'the talk'.

Lorelai stepped into the kitchen, the mug of coffee a pleasing sight.

She sat down opposite Rory, and looked at her daughter whose head was hanging low.

"I'm proud of you" Lorelai said, after a moment.

Rory looked up, shocked; was this how reprimanding speeches were supposed to start off?

Lorelai looked at her daughters face "You have always been the opposite of me; you are organized and self-sufficient, and I'm…" Lorelai tried to find the right words "…Well, I'm _no_t" she said.

Rory now looked into her mother's eyes, ready to listen to whatever she had to say.

"I have this whole big thing I'm going to tell you" Lorelai began "and I have been planning exactly how I'm going to say it, the whole drive home; so I would greatly appreciate it if you just sat down and said nothing" Lorelai said to her still daughter.

"Maybe a nod here and there" Lorelai added.

"I can do that," Rory agreed.

Lorelai ascended from her seat, and began walking up and down the small kitchen, preparing herself for her speech, Rory's head moving in the same direction as her mother's body.

"Ok, I have always, and will always love you and be proud of you- nothing can change that. And I know that school and you're studies mean a lot to you- cause your that kind of kid! And don't get me wrong, because I love that about you-" Lorelai looked over at Rory, and Rory nodded three times, letting her mother know she was listening.

"But there have been times when I have wanted you to act on a whim, and go out and do something crazy- like other teenagers. Granted, I am glad you're not like other brain dead teenagers- I'm glad your more focussed and controlled-" Lorelai glanced at Rory, realizing that her nodding wasn't there, and that she'd lost her along the way.

"I mean, when I was your age I was always rebelling against my parents and breaking the rules at _every_ chance I got! And while I'm glad you have tended to sway a different way when it comes to your personality, sometimes I worry that you not living your life to the fullest potential, missing out on some things- wild, crazy, _exciting _things" Lorelai stopped for a breath, glad to see Rory nodding.

Lorelai bent down, cupping Rory's hands in her own "Just, when, you do, on occasion; feel like acting on you're impulses, do you think you could tell me where those impulses of yours are taking you?" Lorelai asked her.

Rory lifted her head, smiling slightly "Yes" she said quietly.

"And as for this Dean and Tristan situation- well I cant tell you what to do with that, I know it's hard but kiddo-" Lorelai looked into her eyes "That's life, and you have to face you're fears, confront them, and that's the only way you'll conquer them". Lorelai saw that this was not what Rory wanted to hear.

"I can give you some guidance though- follow you're heart, cheesy and overrated as it does sound, I tend to believe in that quotable quote" Lorelai finally finished.

Rory smiled, a little wider this time, and flung her arms around Lorelai.

"Hey! I'm supposed to be punishing you- at least that's what the parenting hand book says to do in these sorts of situations" Lorelai joked, appreciating the warm hug.

"I wont tell if you don't" Rory smiled, pulling away from her mother.

Lorelai smiled "But if you don't mind me asking, what are you going to do about the Dean/Tristan situation?" she asked.

Rory sighed, she didn't want to tell her mother all the details about what she and Tristan had done today; she didn't want to tell her mother that she had sex.

"Your wonderful guidance in mind- I think I'll keep my impulses handy and wing it" Rory said, a little doubtful.

"So long as _'winging it'_ doesn't mean skipping school" Lorelai said, standing again.

"And it doesn't hurt to prepare yourself for the sort of confrontation your bound to have with both of them" Lorelai said thoughtfully.

Rory nodded, "I think I might head in for an early night" she said, rising from her chair.

"Oh no, wait" Lorelai ran over to her handbag that was sitting on the kitchen bench "I hired home alone- thought we might need some laughs" she said, pulling the video out to show Rory.

Rory smiled "Home alone? A little- tacky isn't it?" she said, the idea of staying up and watching the video becoming more and more tempting.

"Well, _'Home alone 2_' was booked out" Lorelai said, gesturing towards the living room "_'Home alone_' it is then" Rory agreed, following her.

* * *

Lorelai pushed the door of Luke's Diner open, allowing Rory to step through, and then herself.

They sat down at their usual table, Rory looking out the window a little anxiously.

"Ah, the million dollar question is 'does she want to see him'?" Lorelai said, looking at her daughter's nervous expression.

Rory didn't take her eyes off the window "I don't think he wants to see me" she answered quietly.

Lorelai pushed her hands over towards Rory's, cupping them in her own. "In which case, he won't come near Luke's this early in the morning" she said kindly.

Rory smiled a little, and then a large mug of coffee was plunked in front of her and Lorelai.

"Oh! Luke, we have trained you well" Lorelai joked, looking up to meet his usual serious expression.

He mumbled a little and then turned back towards the counter.

Rory looked at her mother "Excuse me" she said, as she rose from her seat and walked towards Luke, taking a seat at the counter.

He glided past her, serving an old man a few seats down from her.

"Luke" she said tentatively.

Luke glanced up at her, and then down at his notepad while he wrote the mans order down.

"Quite a shiner you got there" he said bluntly.

Rory blushed, and Luke looked up at her, aware of her nervous/shyness.

"Rory, you're a god kid, and whatever happened that night- well it's none of my business. I'm your friend, and I helped you, I was glad to, so lets leave it at that, ok?" he said, looking away from her as he poured some coffee into a mug.

Rory nodded her head "Thanks Luke" she said, and as she turned to go back to her seat Luke, without looking up said, "You know, if you ever need me-".

Rory turned and smiled "You're a good friend, and I'm lucky to have you", and with that she walked back to her table, leaving Luke with a small smile on his face.

"All good?" Lorelai asked as Rory sat back down.

"With Luke? _Yes_" she said.

* * *

Rory, sitting in her Biology class, tapped her pen continuously on the table.

She was slightly relieved that Tristan wasn't at school, but she had prepared a rough speech for him- and had run through her head the way she thought their conversation might go.

But her thoughts were interrupted "_Hey_, do you mind taking your band _elsewhere_?" Paris said spitefully while looking down at the tapping pen.

Rory was taken aback by the sudden break of silence during study time.

"Oh, err, _Sorry_ Paris" she whispered back, putting the pen on the table.

Paris turned back around and began writing again.

But then paused, thinking back to when she had seen Rory and Tristan, hand in hand yesterday.

She spun back around to look at Rory, startling her again, "And for you're information, I don't care about you and Tristan" she hissed, and then went back to her writing.

Rory was taken aback, and then remembered that Paris had seen them together, holding hands- oh god, this is the last thing I need.

"Look, Paris- things are really complicated, I don't know if there is a 'me and Tristan'. I am sorry for hurting you're feelings when you saw us together, but don't get so worked up about something that you know nothing about! Ok?" she whispered, and then leaned back in her chair and began flipping through the pages of her biology book.

Paris stopped writing again, and turned back around, staring at Rory coldly in the eye "What? Are you in some kind of bad mood because lover boys taken the day off and you have no body to lock lips with at lunch?" she spat back at her, and then waited for Rory's retaliation.

"Paris, I refuse to fight with you about this- you don't know the first thing about me, or Tristan- or me and Tristan as a couple, if that's what we are!" Rory said, and went back to her flipping.

The bell rang and Paris quickly picked up her books and ran out the door, and Rory felt instantly bad for being so cruel- she knew how much Paris loved Tristan, it was bad enough he didn't return the feelings, let alone see him with one of her, Rory was afraid to associate her and Paris as _'friends'._

She closed her eyes and breathed hard, god, that's why Paris was so upset- she must have thought she had consoled in her about her unrequited feelings for Tristan and Rory had gone and stamped all over them!

Rory quickly gathered up her books and ran out after Paris, finding her walking briskly back to her locker.

She ran to catch up with her "Paris, I am sorry- really, really sorry- but things are so conf-" Paris turned and cut Rory off.

"Why am I even upset? I mean look at you" she looked Rory up and down, tears beginning to swell in her eyes.

"Your perfect- pretty, smart, fun to hang round with- and me, well I'm just this controlling, stressful, geek!" she spluttered.

"Oh, Paris, no. You're beautiful, and really intelligent! I have no idea why Tristan is interested in me, I mean, when he could have you" Rory said, trying to comfort the now crying Paris.

Paris looked up at Rory, through her tears "Really?" she asked, bringing her hand to her eyes to brush away the tears.

"Truly" Rory said, smiling.

"Maybe your right" Paris said, and Rory rolled her eyes.

Now feeling a little embarrassed, having shown her feelings so openly to Rory- and all the other students who walked past them and saw her sobbing uncontrollably.

"I better go," she said, a little clearer.

"I'll see you later" Rory said, as she watched Paris walk towards her locker.

Rory turned and headed in the opposite direction, walking towards her own locker.

But as she turned the corner, she gasped, as she saw Dean leaning up against her locker, looking up and down the hallway, and looking for her.

Rory quickly got out of his view, by stepping back behind the corner.

Had he seen her? She peered cautiously around the corner, and saw he was still leaning against her locker.

'Don't run from him Rory' she said to herself quietly.

She took a few deep breaths and walked around the corner, Dean saw her straight away, and stood tall, looking directly at her.

He seemed terribly out of place, in his dark brown chord jacket, and jeans- standing amongst the students in their Chilton uniforms.

Rory walked towards him, slowly, neither of them took their eyes away from one another.

She finally approached her locker, and stood in front of him, feeling small compared to his great height.

"Why did I even come?" he said, throwing his hands in the air and turning around, ready to walk back the way he'd come.

As Rory had gotten closer to him, she saw that he had similar bruising on his face as Tristan.

And presumed he would have more, just the same as Tristan's, on the rest of his body.

"Dean! Wait" Rory called out after him. She swung open her locker and stuffed her bag inside, then ran in Dean's direction- out the doors.

He was easy to find, once again his casual clothes sticking out amongst the Chilton colours.

Dean stopped walking, but didn't turn around.

"Do you love him?" he said, still without turning.

Rory hesitated, leaving a big enough hesitant silence to make Dean start walking back to his car.

"_DEAN_! Can you just-" she threw her hands in the air, and was taken by surprise when she saw him turn to face her.

"Can I _what_? I don't owe you _anything_ Rory- not after what you did to me!" and with that he turned, opened his car door and drove out of the school gates- all so quickly Rory wasn't even sure that their conversation had really just happened.

She felt powerless, like her life was spiralling downward, out of control- and she couldn't stop, or control any of what was happening around her.

Rory turned and began walking back into Chilton; thoughts clouding her head, thoughts of Dean; her 'boy next door' perfect boyfriend who she had betrayed and hurt in the worst way possible.

Tristan; once her enemy, now her-? She didn't know what her and Tristan were, or weren't for that matter. But she knew, that in the last few days, when their 'love affair' had first begun, she had felt things for him-_ love_?

She didn't know, she didn't know anything any more.


	10. Chapter 10

Rory sat in her car, parked outside Dean's house; her hands gripping the steering wheel.

_Confront my fears- talk to him_! She told herself, but at the same time she kept thinking _'he was right, he doesn't owe me anything! What am I expecting him to say to me?'_

Her indecisive attitude was beginning to annoy her- but she couldn't help it.

He had come to her school today; it was only right that she go to him and hear what he wanted to say to her.

Slowly she reached down to grab the door handle, and hopped out of her car, and began walking slowly toward Dean's front door.

As she was about to push the small gate, which lead into the front yard, open, fear almost made her turn around and head back to the car; but she pushed herself through.

As Rory approached the front door, she extended her arm, about to knock; but the door flung open, startling her.

Dean's sister stood in front of Rory, a sour look on her face- god! What was her name again? Rory wondered while she stared at her, not saying a word.

"Hello there-" Rory was cut off by his sister's equally sour tone "what are you doing here?" she asked rudely.

"Umm-well" Rory began "_Hey_! Hold on a minute- how did you know I was here?" she said, diverting her original answer.

"I was looking at you through the window, _genius_!" she answered back, mockingly.

Rory glared at her "Stupid question right?" she said, trying now to laugh off her rudeness.

"Dean doesn't want to see you!" she said coolly, her expression not changing.

Well now Rory was really angry; did this little twerp even realize what was going on with her and Dean?

She tried taking on a more adult approach "Listen here, I need to see you're brother right now-" Rory began, trying to peer into the house to see if Dean was nearby.

Then- **STOMP**! Dean's little sister had lifted her foot, and treaded on Rory's right foot, causing her to step back in pain, clutching her foot.

And as Rory looked back up, she was greeted with a closed door.

Fuming, she limped back to her car, got in, and drove home angrily.

* * *

"She stomped on you're foot?" Lorelai asked, stunned, as she filled the bucket of water with Rory's two feet in it, with more hot water.

"Yes, and who would have thought that those tiny feet could do so much damage!" Rory said, looking down at her bruised right foot.

Lorelai laughed as she went to grab a coke from the fridge "The family sticks together" she said in her best godfather voice.

Rory sighed "_not_ funny" she said to her mother.

"Couldn't resist" Lorelai said, passing Rory a coke as well.

Just then, there came a knock at the door, and Lorelai went to go and open it.

Rory immediately recognised the visitor's voice.

"Oh Dean, yeah sure, come in" Lorelai said, opening the door to him.

As Dean entered the kitchen Rory spun round, and then stood up, forgetting that both her feet were still in the bucket of hot water; she fell to the ground.

Lorelai snorted with laughter, and as Rory pulled herself back up she shot her a menacing glare.

"Ooohhh, I have some laundry to do" Lorelai said, excusing herself.

"You ok?" Dean asked, as he helped Rory back down; though he didn't sound too concerned.

"Only my ego is hurt," she said, trying to bring a smile to his face, but failing.

Dean looked down at Rory's face "Christ Rory, I'm sorry" he said, staring at her black eye- it had died down a bit, but still looked painful.

"I'm fine," she said, noticing the cuts and bruises on his face, like she'd done early that day.

"Are you ok?" she asked.

He nodded slightly, and then turned away "Looks worse than what it is" he replied, bluntly.

"And I'm sorry about Amy" he said _(Amy! That's her name, Rory thought silently to herself) _"She was just being- a _kid_" he said.

"No problem" Rory answerer back, smiling through gritted teeth.

There was silence for a moment "Sit down" she said, motioning to the seat next to her "Do you want something to eat or drink?" she added.

Dean sat down, but shook his head at her second offer.

There was a long silence, and then, out of nowhere Dean leaned over, cupping Rory's face in his hands; and kissed her tenderly on the mouth.

Rory was disorientated as Dean pulled back, looking into her eyes, a small smile on his face.

"Dean-" she whispered, he ran his hands through her hair, not taking his eyes away from hers, and she became frozen.

"I _need_ you," he said quietly.

Rory took his hand that had been running through her hair, in her own, pushing it away from her face.

"Dean-" she began, but he cut her off "Rory, you love me, I know you do- this thing that happened with Tristan, it's nothing compared to what we have" he said, leaning in to kiss her again.

This time, Rory moved her head away, causing Dean to look quizzically into her face.

He shook his head a little, and sighed as he leaned back into his seat, glaring at her.

"There's more, isn't there" he asked her.

Rory said nothing; she simply nodded her head slowly.

Then Rory's eyes looked into his; full or apology, and Dean knew what she was trying to tell him.

He bent down, and cupped his head in his hands "your killing me Rory" he said quietly.

Rory looked down at him; she wanted to say sorry, a thousand times; but that wouldn't do.

"Dean, I never meant to hurt you- I love you¸ I always will-" but Dean stood up, causing her to become silent as he stared down at her.

"Just say it Rory- you don't want me" he began, frustration and tears building up, he could hardly bring himself to say the words; "You want him", he said, feeling himself on the verge of tears.

Rory looked away from him, she had nothing left to say now.

Dean sniffed, refusing to let Rory see him cry.

He turned towards the door, but looked back as he was about to leave the kitchen- he looked at Rory, still sitting down, as close to tears as he was, but still her head was turned away.

"I- I'm-" he couldn't find the words- deep breaths – "I'm sorry, about what happened, losing my temper- I'm sorry if I scared you" he said

finally, and he turned and walked towards the door.

Rory heard the door slam shut, and she finally released her breath.

Lorelai, after hearing Dean's exit, came down from her room and walked slowly into the kitchen.

Rory heard her and looked up, revealing the tears, which had started to steam down her face.

"Oh _Rory_" Lorelai said, walking towards her daughter and embracing her.

* * *

"So you're _not_ sure if you love Tristan?" Lane asked while stuffing another handful of popcorn in her mouth.

She and Rory were lying on the couch, facing one another; popcorn, chocolate, ice creams and a supplement of other sugary foods that would make any dentist weep lying on the table in front of them.

"She's not sure if Tristan loves her!" Lorelai yelled from the kitchen, listening to the conversation while she melted some chocolate in the microwave.

Rory sighed and shook her head, leaning over and grabbing her bottle of coke.

"Hello? He danced with you until 5 in the morning" Lane said whimsically "Now _that_ is romance that you wont find in movies or on TV" she sighed.

"Somebody has watched _'a walk to remember'_ one too many times," Lorelai said, putting the bowl of melted chocolate on the table and taking a seat on the ground in front of Lane and Rory.

Lane smiled "but he also took you to that lake where he-" Rory kicked Lane's leg, miming 'no' with her lips.

Lane winced, and Lorelai looked up at them "he took you to a lake when you guys skipped school?" Lorelai asked, looking at Rory.

"What ever happened to sneaking into a movie theatre and making out for two hours?" Lorelai asked, jokingly.

"Gee, I don't know" Rory said, taking a sip of her coke quickly.

"What did he do?" Lorelai asked, still staring at her daughter.

"What did who do?" Rory asked innocently.

"Tristan?" Lorelai asked, quizzically looking at her daughter as she took a handful of popcorn.

"When?" Lane asked, staring oddly at Lorelai.

Lorelai sighed "When he took you to the '_oh so'_ romantic lake?" she laughed.

"Who?" Rory said quickly.

Lorelai threw her arms in the air "I give up" she sighed, about to ask another question when the doorbell rang "you two will be the death of me" she said, getting up to go and answer the door.

While Lorelai tended to the visitor Rory reached over and pinched Lane on the arm, "Ouch!" Lane said, and then mimed with her mouth '_I'm sorry'_; Rory simply sighed and stuffed the spoonful of strawberry ice cream in her mouth.

"But that was _romantic_" Lane said, matter-of-factly.

Rory was about to pinch Lane again when she heard Lorelai close the door behind her.

Rory looked over her shoulder, only to see Lorelai holding in her hands a bundle of daisies.

"Are they from the bad boy, Tristan? Or the boy next door, Dean?" Lane asked jokingly, and received a quick kick from Rory.

Lorelai handed Rory the flowers, and took her spot back on the floor, looking up anxiously at Rory.

"Drum roll please," Lorelai said, and Lane began to rhythmically bang her hands against her legs and roll her tongue.

Rory tentatively sort through the beautiful white daises, looking for the card.

"And the flowers are from-" Lorelai began "_**Emily Gilmore with love**"_ Rory read out from the card "**_get well soon_**" she added.

"_Ah ha_!" Lorelai exclaimed- "the flowers would be her supplement for her not actually coming over here and mothering you to death!" she said.

Rory looked at her, a questioning look on her face.

"I told mum not to bother coming over here because you were fine and we would definitely be at her place for dinner next Friday" Lorelai explained.

Rory nodded, "She would have taken one look at you're eye, whipped her mobile out and called her lawyer- ready to sue both Tristan and Dean" Lorelai added.

"Very true, thanks for covering for me mum" Rory said, passing the flowers down to her "Put these in water, would you?" she said, in a posh accent; Lorelai hit her over the head with the flowers, and got up to get a vase.

"Just out of curiosity, are you planning on telling you're mum that you and Tristan had sex?" Lane asked, looking at Rory.

Rory turned her head "That depends" she said, "On what?" Lane asked.

"If I really want to die _young_!" Rory said, stuffing some chocolate into her mouth.


	11. THE END

Rory walked into Chilton confidently: it had been a week since she'd seen Tristan at school, and she had no reason to believe that he would be attending on this particular day either.

Her eye was now, almost, completely unnoticeable; and most people thought she had simply done a bad job with her makeup.

Rory turned the corner to her locker, and held her breath as she did so; she had done this all week, incase Dean decided to drop by again.

But Lane, who had promised Rory she would '_keep an eye'_ on Dean for her, said he was fine, well as fine as he could be- all things considered.

Rory walked up to her locker, and noticed a white envelope had been stuck to the door.

She opened it carefully, it read;

'_**Rory, do you want to see me? –**Tristan**'. **_

She held her breath, she had been caught slightly off guard- and the question was so 'confronting' and straightforward, how was she supposed to reply? What was her answer?

"_Well?" _

Rory turned around quickly, shocked to see Tristan staring at her, his blue eyes piercing her own with his intimate stare.

She looked at him; bewilderment painted all over her face- it was really him!

Finally she felt words forming in her throat;

"I don't suppose I _have _a choice," she said quietly, trying to avoid his gaze.

Tristan sighed and looked away "if you don't want to talk to me, I can just walk away right now" he said, looking down at her.

"What? And never come back?" Rory said, a little harshly.

Tristan frowned at her "Your angry because I didn't tell you where I was. _Is that it_?" he asked her.

Rory sighed and looked away- "I left for you- I thought you didn't want to see me, I thought-" he cut himself off, trying to find the words "I thought I would make this easier on you- if I vanished you wouldn't have to let me down easy!" he said coldly.

Rory shook her head "Well, you didn't stay around long enough to find out- did you?" she said quietly.

Tristan looked away, regret and guilt flooding him "Lets go somewhere and talk" he said, stepping aside to allow Rory to walk in front of him.

She did so, and they turned the corner and walked into the empty science lab, Rory taking a seat on one of the stools, while Tristan stood in front of her.

"You trying to tell me that you didn't regret what we did?" Tristan asked her.

Rory looked down at her hands "Exactly- that's why I left for a little while!" Tristan said, turning around, ready to walk out.

"Maybe I wanted you to stay" she said, loudly enough to make him turn and look at her. "Maybe I needed you to talk to me, and convince me how much you loved me- maybe I needed you to stroke my hair again and tell me everything would be ok!" she said, still staring at her hands.

After a stunned silence Tristan said, "You needed me to convince you that I loved you?" he asked her, moving in closer.

Rory looked up at him, glad to see he was still standing in front of her- then she looked back down at her hands; "I thought-" her words wouldn't come out "- I thought you only had sex with me- did all those things with me- as a practical joke, to prove to yourself or you're friends that you could have me!" she said finally, still not looking up at him.

"Did I do anything to make you believe that I would have done those things for- that reason?" he asked her, stepping in closer again.

"No, well at first I told myself that I was being stupid- then when you left for a week, I was certain" she said quietly, close to tears.

Tristan laughed under his breath.

Without saying anything he turned around and opened the door; walking out without saying a word to Rory.

She looked up- and tears began to fill her eyes, so it was true? He didn't love her? He just used her!

The tears began to seep out, uncontrollably, and sitting in the dark lab room she held her face in her hands.

And then; "_Rory?"_ someone called- and the voice, though fairly loud, sounded far away.

Rory looked up, only to find the room empty.

* * *

**"_Rory- this is Tristan_!"** she heard the voice- and then looked up at the loud speaker on the wall- could it be?

**"_Rory, I can't let all the things you mean to me come tumbling out my mouth; because there's a hell of a lot I'd have to say_-"** Rory smiled as Tristan's voice came through, loud and clear, over the school Loud-speaker.

Rory got up off the chair, and ran to the door, opening it slightly, only to see a mass of students, all standing still in the hallway, looking up at the loud speaker listening quietly to Tristan's voice- bewilderment on their faces.

Rory closed the door again, and leaned against it, closed her eyes and smiled, as she continued to listen to his deep voice.

**"**_**But I think I can sum it up- in a couple of words**-"_ Tristan began, and then paused for a moment _"**Lorelai Leigh Gilmore**_**-**" he began, and then paused once more "_**Rory- you take my breath away, and I love you, from the bottom of my heart ****I love you**!"_ he said, and Rory could hear sighs and giggles coming from the hallway.

She smiled contentedly, turned around, twisted the doorknob and ran out into the hallway.

And as she ran to the Principals office she heard a few students say

"_That's her!_

"_The one he's talking about!"_

"_Isn't that Rory Gilmore?"_

All the while she smiled, warmth and happiness overwhelming her.

Until finally she got to the Principals office- and saw a small crowd of receptionists and teachers gathered around the door, muttering out loud.

"He's still in there" she heard one of them say.

"He's locked the bloody door!" another said.

"At least he's stopped speaking now" somebody called.

She smiled even more, but hoped he wouldn't get caught.

And then a thought hit her- the office was on the bottom level of the building--- the window!

She turned and ran for the doors, and burst out into the garden- running towards the window, which she saw was wide open.

She stopped, not sure where else he would have gone? Maybe back after her?

She turned around once more, ready to go in search of Tristan, but a body blocked her path.

She looked up, to see Tristan's face smiling down at her.

"Well, I think you owe me an-" Tristan began, but Rory stopped him, pulling herself onto her tippy toes to stop his mouth with a tender kiss.

She pulled away, her arms wrapped around him, "apology" he finally got the word out.

Rory looked into her eyes "I never doubted you for a second" she said, smiling.

Tristan laughed, picked her up off the ground, gathering her in his strong arms, and spun her round.

And as he placed her back, firmly on the ground, they shared a warm, affectionate kiss- while the rest of the school looked on.

* * *

_**THREE MONTHS LATER:**_

Rory pushed a forkful of pancake into Tristan's face; he happily ate it, and then went back to reading his magazine.

A smear of syrup on his lip, she leant over the table and with one finger swiped it away.

Reclining back into her chair, she placed her fork down and looked at him sternly.

"_Oh no_" she sighed.

Tristan looked up at her strangely "What?" he asked.

"We've turned into_ THAT_ couple," she said sadly; but she was trying very hard to act serious.

Tristan folded his magazine and placed it on the table, "What couple would that be?" he asked her.

"How do I take my coffee?" she asked him-

"Black- but what does that-" he began to ask her, but she interrupted.

"You have yours white and two." She said bluntly.

Tristan looked at her even more strangely now "Rory- you've lost me" he said.

"I just _spoon-fed_ you!" she said, assuming he'd understand.

"And it was very good pancake-" he said, still in the dark about this conversation. But as Rory looked at him seriously, her brow slightly furrowed, he realized what she was trying to say, and he put on an equally serious face.

"The couple that everyone looks at and instantly want to puke at the very 'loving' sight of them" he said, and Rory nodded.

"It's what we-" she began "used to pity" he ended for her.

"We have turned into the sort of people who depend on their significant other to be with them _24/7_-" she said

"We finish off each other's sentences," he added.

Rory sighed, and leaned back in her chair, crossing her arms.

"Well, we should end it _now_" she said, staring at him.

"Your right! I mean, now that we have seen the error of our ways, we definitely have to break up! We are a disgrace," he agreed.

"I don't want to be the sort of person who thinks the world is going to end when her boyfriend doesn't call her 42 times, exactly, every night-" she said, matter-of-factly.

"Yeah, I agree- I don't want to be that guy who leaves his girlfriend little love notes in her work books!" he said.

Rory sat forward a little "But I love those!" she said sadly.

Tristan laughed, and they both broke their serious faces with broad smiles.

Rory leaned over the table and kissed Tristan tenderly on the lips.

"Get a room you two!" Luke called out from behind the counter, and they both pulled away, embarrassed.

"We better go" Tristan said, looking at his watch.

Rory gathered her bag and rose from her seat.

"Thanks Luke!" Tristan called, as he opened the door for Rory.

As they approached Tristan's car Rory saw Lane and Dean, walking hand in hand across the street- Lane noticed her and waved her arm frantically; Rory waved back, but noticed that Dean only gave a quick smile, nothing more.

"Does it bother you?" Tristan asked as they got into the car.

Rory looked over at him "No, they make a cute couple" she answered him. "And I'm glad me and Dean are on speaking terms these days" she added.

Tristan reached down and grabbed her hand, bringing it to his lips, he kissed it lightly.

"And besides, I have you" Rory said, looking at him happily.

Tristan smiled, and leaned over, cupping Rory's face in his hands; he kissed her on the mouth.

"Yeah, you got me" he said, pulling away and looking into her eyes lovingly.

* * *

_Well as they so 'that's all folks!' _

_I hope you enjoyed reading my story, as much as I enjoyed writing it!_

_And I hope you liked the ending!_

_Well until my next TRORY story- have a good one! And thanks for you're great reviews!_


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